Police chiefs overseeing tonight’s operation to manage the derby fixture between Port Vale and Stoke City say the response is one of the biggest over a football match in 10 years.

Between 150 and 180 officers have been made available to not only handle the thousands heading to Vale Park this evening – but also monitor the town and surrounding area throughout the afternoon.

At Staffordshire Police’s HQ a dedicated control room has been set up to oversee the operation and StokeonTrentLive has been invited in to meet the team.

A large CCTV screen in the control room

The force has six spotting teams – 12 officers in total – keeping tabs on ‘risk supporters’ with eight of the constabulary’s dog handlers on standby. West Midlands Police is also supplying a drone.

Overseeing tonight’s operation is silver commander, Superintendent Martin Brereton who is receiving support from this team:

Superintendent Ricky Fields – silver commander support

“I am the silver commander’s, Superintendent Martin Brereton’s, critical friend. My role is to give the silver commander support throughout the operation so they can focus on operation decisions.

Superintendent Ricky Fields

“I have been a silver commander since 2013 and cover Port Vale, Stoke City and Burton Albion. Tonight it’s about making sure we provide the right resources where needed.

“This is the biggest football operation we have done in more than 10 years. I deal with all football and public order issues and will carry out assessments for people wanting to be a silver commander.

"Along with the team in the control room we have six spotting teams out there and they will feed details back to us and they will also be gathering evidence.

"With this being a public order operation there are different elements to it and that also includes a presence from licensing to work with the venues and make sure they have the right staff in place.

"We work with the local authority and if there is disorder they can respond if there is any damage caused.

"We also have someone logging all the decision-making we go through here so we are accountable."

Mark Dempsey – licensing officer

“We have done a lot of work prior to the game in speaking to the licensed premises and we have been visiting them ahead of the match. Some have specific conditions around opening for away or home fans and it is also about making sure any other conditions are being upheld. We want to make sure the venues are prepared and none find themselves being inundated.”

Sergeant John Buchan – public order tactical advisor

“We have different tactics available and my role is to offer those suggestions to the silver commander. The commander may say an outcome they would like to achieve and I will offer some preferred options – but the decision is his.

Sergeant John Buchan in the dedicated control room

“There is thought behind a lot of things, from filming to gather evidence, the manner to approach fans and the type of uniform whether it’s standard or using protection. But it’s always important to analyse the situation and consider the exact response.”

Adrian Roberts – partnership officer with Staffordshire Police

“My role is providing that link between the force and Stoke-on-Trent City Council and I will base myself at places like Smithfield and also different police stations.

“I was a frontline officer for 30 years and was Chief Inspector at Burslem before I retired so I do have contacts in both the police and council. My daily role is looking at various issues and whether it should be police or council-led, or both.

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“Tonight I am providing that link between the two – including CCTV and street cleaning. People want things to be back to normal after the game and if there is any mess or debris, it’s about making sure that’s tidied away with the local authority ready to do that.”

PC Gary Taylor – football intelligence officer at Port Vale

“We have spotters in various locations where we believe fans to be meeting before the match. They are there to gather intelligence, evidence and respond to incidents.

West Midlands Police with their drone (Image: West Midlands Police)

“I am helping to coordinate those spotters while my boss, Rob Morgan, is out there. Being based here means I can work with the intelligence team and licensing to share the information that is coming in.

“I travel across the country in this role with Port Vale and we help give advice to other forces and a lot of the Vale fans are pleased to see us. The role is about making sure those supporters who want to cause trouble are identified and to engage with fans who are there to enjoy the match. We have more spotters out tonight than we would for a normal game.”

Gold commander Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones

Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones meeting the media this afternoon

“We have been planning for this fixture for three weeks with a comprehensive plan to remove the risk of disorder and meet our primary aim of making sure people get to the game safely and enjoy the match.”